Important Information
BulletShares® ETFs
The funds are non-diversified and may experience greater volatility than a more diversified investment.
Interest rate risk refers to the risk that bond prices generally fall as interest rates rise and vice versa.
During the final year of the funds’ operations, as the bonds mature and the portfolio transitions to cash and cash equivalents, the funds’ yield will generally tend to move toward the yield of cash and cash equivalents and thus may be lower than the yields of the bonds previously held by the funds and/or bonds in the market.
If interest rates fall, it is possible that issuers of callable securities will call or prepay their securities before maturity, causing the fund to reinvest proceeds in securities bearing lower interest rates and reducing the fund’s income and distributions.
An issuer may be unable or unwilling to meet interest and/or principal payments, thereby causing its instruments to decrease in value and lowering the issuer’s credit rating.
Income generated from the funds is based primarily on prevailing interest rates, which can vary widely over the short- and long-term. If interest rates drop, the funds’ income may drop as well. During periods of rising interest rates, an issuer may exercise its right to pay principal on an obligation later than expected, resulting in a decrease in the value of the obligation and in a decline in the funds’ income.
An issuer’s ability to prepay principal prior to maturity can limit the funds’ potential gains. Prepayments may require the funds to replace the loan or debt security with a lower yielding security, adversely affecting the funds’ yield.
The funds currently intend to effect creations and redemptions principally for cash, rather than principally in-kind because of the nature of the funds’ investments. As such, investments in the funds may be less tax efficient than investments in ETFs that create and redeem in-kind.
Unlike a direct investment in bonds, the funds’ income distributions will vary over time and the breakdown of returns between fund distributions and liquidation proceeds are not predictable at the time of investment. For example, at times the funds may make distributions at a greater (or lesser) rate than the coupon payments received, which will result in the funds returning a lesser (or greater) amount on liquidation than would otherwise be the case. The rate of fund distribution payments may affect the tax characterization of returns, and the amount received as liquidation proceeds upon fund termination may result in a gain or loss for tax purposes.
During periods of reduced market liquidity or in the absence of readily available market quotations for the holdings of the fund, the ability of the fund to value its holdings becomes more difficult and the judgment of the sub-adviser may play a greater role in the valuation of the fund’s holdings due to reduced availability of reliable objective pricing data.
The funds’ use of a representative sampling approach will result in its holding a smaller number of securities than are in the underlying Index, and may be subject to greater volatility.
BulletShares® High Yield ETFs
The values of junk bonds fluctuate more than those of high quality bonds and can decline significantly over short time periods.
The risks of investing in securities of foreign issuers, including emerging market issuers, can include fluctuations in foreign currencies, political and economic instability, and foreign taxation issues.
BulletShares® Emerging Markets ETFs
The risks of investing in securities of foreign issuers, including emerging market issuers, can include fluctuations in foreign currencies, political and economic instability, and foreign taxation issues.
Non-investment grade securities may be subject to greater price volatility due to specific corporate developments, interest-rate sensitivity, negative perceptions of the market, adverse economic and competitive industry conditions and decreased market liquidity.
The funds may invest in privately issued securities, including 144A securities which are restricted (i.e. not publicly traded). The liquidity market for Rule 144A securities may vary, as a result, delay or difficulty in selling such securities may result in a loss to the fund.
The funds may hold illiquid securities that it may be unable to sell at the preferred time or price and could lose its entire investment in such securities.
Government obligors in emerging market countries are among the world’s largest debtors to commercial banks, other governments, international financial organizations and other financial instruments. Issuers of sovereign debt or the governmental authorities that control repayment may be unable or unwilling to repay principal or interest when due, and the fund may have limited recourse in the event of default. Without debt holder approval, some governmental debtors may be able to reschedule or restructure their debt payments or declare moratoria on payments.
BulletShares® Municipal ETFs
Municipal securities are subject to the risk that legislative or economic conditions could affect an issuer’s ability to make payments of principal and/ or interest.
This information is intended for US residents.
Bonds generally present less short-term risk and volatility than stocks, the bond market is volatile and investing in bonds involves interest rate risk; as interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall, and vice versa. Bonds also entail issuer and counterparty credit risk, and the risk of default. Additionally, bonds generally involve greater inflation risk than stocks. Unlike individual bonds, bond funds have fees and expenses and most bond funds do not have a maturity date, so holding them until maturity to avoid losses caused by price volatility is not possible. Investors should talk with their advisers regarding their situation before investing.
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